Leading European IT recruitment group, Focus Cloud, has acquired specialist Microsoft recruitment firm, Cognitive Group. Together, they have formed a new global brand, the Focus Cloud Group, which will provide global recruitment solutions across the major cloud platforms Microsoft, Workday, SAP, Salesforce and Service Now, as well as the Life Science and Cyber Security industries.
This strategic move brings together two important players in the cloud staffing market, creating opportunity for both parties to deliver an enhanced offering. So, as the acquisition and retention of talent continues to be a major focus for leaders, it’s essential that organisations are given access to the widest talent pool available. With the cloud market continuing to expand and connecting multiple technologies, bringing together multiple specialist brands is a natural progression that we believe will only add value to any growing organisation.
The new group will be headed by CEO Lloyd Gordon, the founder of Focus Cloud, and current Chairman of Cognitive, Jonathan Wright, who becomes the chairperson for the new enlarged group. This partnership combines the experience and success Cognitive has in Microsoft recruitment solutions with Focus Cloud’s repertoire of Workday, SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow and Cyber Security recruitment services.
Cognitive Group joins 6 other brands sitting under the Focus Cloud umbrella – each with their own specialist tech focus. Cognitive will be the largest entity as the dedicated Microsoft specialist for the group.
OTHER BRANDS WITHIN THE GROUP:
• Focus Cloud - Workday
• Focus Salesforce
• Focus Life Science
• Focus Service Now
• Focus SAP
• Focus Security
Find out more about the Focus Cloud Group portfolio: https://focuscloud.org/
What is going to change? It won’t! Our core proposition remains unchanged, and our brand stays untouched, so you will continue to work with the same people via the same channels as you currently do. However, the benefit is that as we expand we will start to be able to support your business and projects in other geographies too. Also, should you have IT resource needs outside the Microsoft sphere, we are now in a position to facilitate them through one of our sister companies - all specialists in their own fields.
THE GOAL:
At Cognitive, we have never wanted to be the biggest, instead, we have focused on building a highly skilled workforce that delivers a service worth recommending. We are proud to say that we have achieved this, becoming the most recommended Microsoft recruitment partner in the UK for many organisations. Now, we have the ambition to take our offering international and enhance the good progress already made in Germany and France. So, who better to do it with than an already established organisation that not only compliments our business but has successfully achieved a very similar goal in their own market?
Jon Keen, CEO of Cognitive commented:
“We are very proud of the reputation we have built with Microsoft, its partners and its clients and being part of the Focus Cloud Group gives us a great platform to expand our work across Europe and the USA. It has been clear from the outset that we and the team from Focus Cloud share common values and an outright commitment to enable our clients to meet their goals by helping them recruit the talent they require”.
He continued:
“We are already starting to notice opportunities to expand within current customers, and as we develop the co-operation between the various brands, we are confident that our client base, our network of candidates and colleagues alike will reap the rewards.”
CEO Lloyd Gordon commented on the new group:
“Our vision just over 6 years ago at the beginning of Focus Cloud was always to build a multi branded specialist talent provider in the Cloud market. Our position across Europe where we lead the Workday market is well established and we are also making strong progress in North America.”
LLoyd continued:
“It is essential for our strategy to be able to support the major Cloud markets and bringing in Cognitive - a leading player in the Microsoft market - represents a major step forward in delivering on this. It is interesting to note just how many of our combined clients have resource requirements both contract and permanent in at least two or more of the brands that we service. By utilising both organisations’ strengths we will be able to deliver a holistic approach to their talent needs, introducing a more streamlined and effective solution to their hiring process.”
One of the main reasons this merger has come to fruition is that our two organisations share a set of values, mindset, and culture; something we pride ourselves on at Cognitive Group and is reflected in the service we deliver to our clients. We are therefore confident that any potential relationships our clients’ build with the wider group will mirror the service levels you have come to expect from us.
If you have any requirements to discuss or if you have any questions about how this merger might impact you, please get in touch and we would be happy to discuss.
Contact: Paul Knox, Cognitive Group Managing Director - paul.knox@cognitive-group.com
